Welcome to my Army Blog where I will play with my dragonlist. My former battle reports and list building were focused on a single deathstar of either Dancers of Yema or Executioners. Now I want to learn something completely different, a Dragonlist. Another reason to start this new thread is that I want to combine my gained knowledge about making battle reports with tactical ideas and showcases of the army.

I started collecting and painting Warhammer when I was a little boy and bought my first blister of the epic dark elf Black Guard. A bit later I discovered the even cooler Executioner models and bought my first army book even while I could not read English yet, intrigued by the beautiful illustrations. Over the years I learned more English and began to discover the epic tales of the Druchii. This was the 6th edition army book by Gav Thorpe, and it remained my biggest Dark Elf inspiration book ever since. Already from the start I was intrigued by Khaine, Har Ganeth, its Executioners and the sacred ferocious Manticores. The combination of awesome models and epic fluff has made me stay with the Druchii ever since.

As all of us, I really did not liked the end of Warhammer Fantasy Battles and its replacement Age of Sigmar. Especially because I just started playing Warhammer in 2014, at a local club. Therefore I am intensely grateful for the 9th Age and the hard work of all those volunteers supporting my beloved hobby. I always wanted to play with my Dragon and my two Manticores into one list, and since my first game with them I realized I arrived at the list I was looking for the past couple of years. This army blog will be devoted to my experiences, thoughts and progress with the Dragonlist.

:: Lord Drakon on his Dragon, Luna ::

I will build on this post and this thread in my evenings and hopefully transform it into something epic and a pleasure to read for my fellow Druchii generals.

:: List Summary ::

A Dragon list that is focused on the offensive able to get fast into strategic positions for deadly combo-charges. A relative well armoured and fast moving Dread Elf force, that is extremely disciplined and hits hard on the charge. It has opted to not include any casters trying to make use of the fickle winds of magic, by including the critical magical defense given by the Crown of Scorn. It still has enough shooting to clear chaff and war machines without sacrificing in the fundamentals of the list.

Introduction Greetings to my first battle report with the Dragonlist! I just watched the newest episode of the Game of Thrones series, and I feel epic. I will not give any spoilers or talk further about it, but I might write this battle report a bit more enthusiastic than usually haha. Those that saw the episode will understand, and its similarities with this battle. In this battle I faced the Warriors of the Dark Gods, against a list a failed horribly against my last battle. The benefit ofcourse was that I knew his list and how it worked, and could therefore better deploy and play as my gameplan became clear before the deployment. We rolled for frontal clash and our secondary objective was to secure the target.

Friendly list I took my Dragonlist, with three flyers made up of a dragon and two manticores.

A lot of points invested in magic with the Sorcerer, Chose conclave and Altar in total 7 spells. His Warrior block with BSB is quite hard and difficult to hit with the Lust and shields. The Elder Dragons are as strong as a Druchii Dragon except that they can not fly and I experienced how sturdy the Trolls can be. War Altar is annoying with its -1 to hit and bound spell, but against my combat list not such a big issue. Fallen Beasts as his chaff can ambush to take out warmachines, but against my list they would be too late to make a difference. Only skullsplitter to deal with my chaff besides his magic so I should have full board control. I should focus to dispell his DT spell on my dragon and just hope he will not be able to do much because of bad magic rolls. After all, he should just get 2 or 3 phases before I can charge his Sorcerer!

Pre-game thoughts I have learned by know that even while Warriors of the Dark Gods is a combat army, and I have more shooting, I should not let that put me in a defensive setting, as my combat units or generally better than his, especially when combo-charging. I would advance as fast as possible to his lines, with the Corsairs and Dread Knights in the centre, flanked by at one flank a Kraken and Manticore and the other flank the Dragon and BSB Manticore. I was planning to trick him deploying his Elder Dragon Centaurs to one flank opposing my Dragon and Manticore and then I could just fly to the centre of the battlefield in my turn leaving his EDC out of position!

His Sorcerer got Awaken the Beast, Swarm of Insects, Break the Spirit and Totemic Summon, a great selection if you ask me, however I only had to focus on dispelling Break the Spirit and should be relative unharmed by his magic phase.

Deployment I will focus on our Terrain at the start of the deployment phases, as learning to utilize this part of the battle will become a great asset for my Dragonlist. I won the roll to pick a side and this was the terrain we had.

Either a side with two forest to hide in, or two hills to hide behind. I reasoned that there were several benefits from him in the forest side, as in a forest his units lose steadfast against my flyers, he would get easy cover against my shooting, but I was not planning to shoot more than two turns anyway! Also without hills I could always have line of sight and therefore charge him when in range. The hills would provide the Reapers with some nice line of sight, so I picked the side with the hills. It had a piece of impassable terrain at my side, but that should be no problem for my flyers or fast cavalry

We deployed until the last drop one by one, and my plan of his EDC opposing my Dragon and BSB Manticore worked. He realized his Fallen Beasts would be without use as ambushers and deployed them as some more drops and possible redirectors. I think my deployment was good, and it was great to have a battle plan before we started deploying. Especially his left flank was weak where my Manticore, Kraken and Dread Knights would easily break through. Also his Trolls trying to provide cover against shooting I think where in a position I could snatch the opportunity to overrun into his Warrior block. I am also happy about the Artillery deployment, as they have line of sights to the EDC while far away from each other. I do forget to vanguard with the Dark Raiders.

Turn 1 - XIII LegionI had one drop less and therefore +1 to start, and won the roll to begin. Here we go!

The Knights pass their stupidity tests, what is nearly impossible to fail with LD10 re-roll bubble. I advance my units as far as possible while making lucky charges for him impossible. Dragon and BSB Manticore move up to position where they can either commit to the centre or to the flank. Corsairs also move up to provide some ranks in combat and Dread Knights to charge if he comes to close. I keep my harpies behind the Reaper in case he does something unexpected and the small unit of Corsairs remains behind to catch the objective (later I discovered I only had to capture his objective, not both) while on warmachine protection duty in case he gets a Totemic Beast off. Again, I am happy how I advanced, not giving away any risks while getting ready for charge positions in my second turn. He has no options than to wait or retreat, as otherwise I counter-charge.

Normally this would be the place for my magic phase, but the lack of it deserves some notion. By skipping the magic phase, my turns became much shorter and much easier. This gave me the time and focus to concentrate 100% on the movement phase, which was very liberating and I think is a great support to learning playing with this list. Another nice addition is that there is nothing that I can screw up, as no miscasts and our reapers also never blow up. The time of killing my own troops by miscasts or sacrifices is over! I first thought I would miss magic, but the awesome movement phase with all those fast units and flyers makes up for it!

I used my Raven Cloaks as early drop to lure him to deploy a bit wider, but now they are out of position to do much useful as otherwise they would just be in the way of the important units, so I just advance them as quickly as possible to get into enemy flanks. Dark Raiders try to inflict a wound on a EDC, and I also shoot with my Reapers on his most right EDC. With T6 and 3+ AS I opt for single shots, one fails to hit, the other fails to wound. Should I multi-shot in this case, probably yes as multi-shoot is generally better, but with a lucky shot the chance to 1 to 3 wounds is also great. No damage from ranged attacks in my first turn, especially in my lists where ranged attacks are the focus, this is a change from play, but also here it is absolutely liberating to know that this does all not matter as it is combat where I will do the damage.

Turn 1 - Warriors of the Dark GodsThe enemy has no choice and must castle, he moves his EDC back to counter-charge a flank attack and most units shuffle back a bit besides the Trolls. Also his chaff moves back to provide crucial redirections in the next turn.

He gets 8 power dice, fails Awaken the Beast on the dragon, then gets a Swarm of Insects of the dragon that inflict three wounds, nice one! One is removed by the lucky shield and another one is saved, first wound on the Dragon. I dispell the Awaken the Beast bound spell and Totemic Beast. No real damage done, and only two magic phases left..

His BSB shoots with his Skullsplitter on the Dark Raiders, hits two, wounds two and kills them both. This causes the Dark Raiders to take panic test, I roll 11 and with the re-roll 10 which is enough. Note about this battle, I rolled very high for my leadership every time, lots of 9 and 10's, which would have easily screwed up certain units such as the Dark Raiders in this case, but the LD10 re-roll is just amazing reliable even with such bad luck!

Turn 2 - XIII LegionTime to move in position for lots of combo-charges in my next turn! I pass both my stupidity rolls only just. The Kraken, Manticore and Dread Knights at the left flank get into nice positions to get into the enemy flank while the Dragon and BSB Manticore deploy into the centre with the Corsairs. The other Dread Knights and Raiders make sure his EDC's can't charge them and his Fallen Beast is also too far. Raven Cloaks will not be able to inflict much damage anyway so just advance, but this should be done more usefull. Harpies get behind Corsairs so they are able to redirect if something goes wrong.

I focus fire again on the right Elder Dragon Centaur (EDC) but fail to inflict any damage.

Turn 2 - Warriors of the Dark GodsEncircled without any possibility for good counter-charges the enemy is trapped and can't do much. Both Fallen Beast advance in a desperate try to redirect some units such as the Dread Knights and Kraken but out of position to redirect the important Corsairs. His trolls move up forward a bit, I think to maybe create the possibility for my flyers to get stuck or in a failed overrun towards his Warriors, however the distance was only 6 now. His Sorceres gets to the other flank, while his EDC's get ready to counter-charge the incoming flyers as soon they as stuck in or in front of his Warriors. His Chosen get to the board edge as close as possible making the distance between them and the Kraken 16"

He gets 7 dice against 5 for me. He uses 5 dice on Awaken the Beast on my Dragon, which I dispell and then the other 2 dice on another Awaken the Beast on my Dragon with his Altar, but I use the Crown of Scorn. Amazing to have this item, as it can really shut down the enemy magic phase for at least 1 crucial phase. I survived the two most crucial magic phases, with all those points from him invested in magic (1000+) against my Crown of Scorn that is only 30 points.

His BSB tries to kill and panic the Harpies, but fail to hit.

Turn 3 - XIII LegionHERE WE GO! I first charge with my Kraken into his Barbarians, he passes his LD test. Then I charge the Manticore into his Barbarians, he holds and finally the Dread Knights, also in his Barbarians, and he decided to flee. Then something amazing happens. His Barbarians flee through his Sorcerer general off the board as expected but this forces his general to take a panic test. He rolls.. 10. Re-roll.. another 10!!! He flees off the battlefield. Kraken redirects into the Chose, Manticore fails redirection test and makes a failed charge while the Dread Knights redirect into the Fallen Beast. The Dread Knights at right flank also charges the Fallen Beast. Then the important charge in the Trolls. Corsairs, Dragon and BSB Manticore charges, and he is stupid so can only hold. Kraken needs 10 for the Chosen, makes it! Corsairs need 5, make it! Dragon needs 6, makes it! BSB Manticore need 7, also make it! BAM! I'm in. Foreseeing the counter-charge in his next turn when I overrun, I put the Dragon at the right flank and the BSB in the middle, flanked by the Corsairs. I do make mistake here, as I could likely redirect one of his EDC with the Harpies and another one with the Dark Raiders, but I don't. Raven Cloaks do not do anything as they will be no nothing left, actually a mistake as I should be ready for the worst case scenario. Still thinking I need also my own objective for the points, I send my war machine duty Corsairs towards my objective.

I fail my shooting again against his right EDC.

I start with the big combat. I use the breath weapon of the Dragon to be sure to kill them all, as last battle they remained steadfast and I got stuck. In my head I needed to kill all of them completely to succeed, but ofcourse when they are less than three they also have no ranks left. Because of the attacks from the characters the Corsairs are out of combat. A single troll with 1 wound stays alive, but fails to inflict any damage and auto-breaks. Both the BSB Manticore and Dragon pursuit and overrun into the Warriors for an exciting next turn. The Kraken kills two Chosen, and they fail to hit the Kraken in return. They break and run off the table while the Kraken reforms for a flank charge next turn. Both the Dread Knights kill the Fallen Beasts without much effort. He has one last chance to score at least some points from the Dragon or BSB Manticore.

Turn 3 - Warriors of the Dark GodsHis Elder Dragon Centaurs and Barbarians charge into the flank of the Dragon.

He challenges with his Warrior champion and I accept with my Dragon, making his flankers useless besides some combat resolution. The Dragonlord easily slays the champion with maximum overkill for a 4+ to the important CR. His BSB drinks the potion of speed and hits first. He also uses his breath weapon item and it inflict a wound. The attacks of the BSB inflict another wound (+2 CR for him). The BSB has three attacks, hitting on 4+ and hits two. To wound, he rolls double 1!!! But Killer Instinct saves me, as I get to re-roll and I wound him twice. He fails his armour save and I inflict two wounds, 4 with multi-wound, and his BSB his dead! His Warriors inflict some hits, 1 wounds, but I save it a 4+. The Manticore kills two more Warriors. "OK, but I still win.." he says, but then we count the combat resolution. He has 3 ranks, 1 standard, 1 war banner, 1 charge, 1 flank charge, with full ranks, 2 wounds = 10 I have 1 BSB, 1 charge, 4 challenge kills, 5 wounds = 11, and win combat! His Warriors break, and run off the table, the Barbarians also break, and so does the first Elder Dragon Centaur. The situation is so hopeless that the enemy surrenders...

Result 20 - 0, his whole army wiped off the table while I only lost 2 Dark Raiders!

Post-Game Thoughts Just, WOW. I have never won so decisive as this battle, and it was glorious! It was great to close in on my enemy as a predator on prey. While I did 0 ranged damage, I won very big, and it has convinced me that I prefer to play with movement + combat oriented lists from now on. It was actually great to not have any magic, as it allowed me to focus on the movement phase and I think that went pretty well besides the redirectors. I can definitely improve my game as that is what I will be doing in the next battles, but this was a great way to start playing with this list. I think having three flyers that are as big as the Dragon and Manticore is pretty strong, and I think the support units also fit in there pretty well. Even when I had not won that last battle in the first round, they would have likely stuck in combat with LD10 re-roll, and then the rest of the forces finished it my next turn. Thank you for reading, I hope you will leave a comment to juice up this army blog! Until next time!

MVPThe MVP I think was the BSB Manticore, for killing the BSB and his Manticore 3 Warriors winning me the combat, resulting into the massacre that followed. He was also crucial in several panic tests or stupidity tests on the Dread Knights.

First of all, this is going to be an incomplete battle report based on diagrams. Half way I discover I already made big movement mistakes especially with my right flank starting from turn 1, and the only way to fix this is by making a new battle diagram from the beginning which will take too much time. So I start with diagrams and complement it with pictures, have some turns without pictures etc. I hope there will be enough visual material to make it a nice read, and you will see actual battle pictures this time. It might be a bit less detailed than normal. My Warriors opponent wanted to try out his Troll / Shamanism combo and I brought the Dragonlord with some minor tweaks again.

Strong magic and four tough units supported by two ambushing Fallen Beasts and the Hellrider chaff.

Pre-game thoughts Breaking through his units was not going to happen this battle, but I should have complete board control by deleting his chaff after the first turns. The battleplan was to first kill the Elder Dragon Centaurs with the flyers and Kraken and then combo-charge in the Warriors while I would use my chaff to chaff up the Trolls. I have four scoring units against his 2, so if I could chaff up his trolls that would become 4 vs 1.

He rolled well for magic, triple 5 and a 6 and got Totemic Beats, Awaken the Beast, Signature (+1S and +1T) and Swarms of Insects, the perfect selection.

Deployment I will still put some focus on the beginning, as that is where I made some crucial mistakes in my battle plan. We rolled for that diagonal battleline with the secondary objective as secure the centre. I got to pick the terrain, but as he had a 9th meeting (he is There is No Spoon) and his computer was ready at his side we just decided to not change position before I gave it too much thought.

However I should have realized that terrain would be a big factor in this game, as he had a big piece of impassible terrain in in his deployment phase. I was thinking this was to my advantage and I could surround him without being in line of sight, but the extreme opposite is ofcourse the case. He can plant his big unit of Warriors besides it able to take the objective while I can charge it frontally or from right flank. He deployed all his units as his meeting was about to start so I could do my deployment while he was in discussion.

This again should not had been too much of a problem when I was aware of this fact and deployed on the right flank to overpower him there. Instead I separated my flyers, with one Manticore captain taking the right flank and the Dragon + BSB on the left flank. I was not sure about Reaper deployment as I did not wanted to be too close to the table edge for the ambushers and possible totemic beast. Already the placement of the Manticore captain is a big mistake, as I forgot the EDC will be steadfast so impossible to break on the charge, even then, it is just not a good idea to send a solo captain/manticore against these dragons on foot. Absolute waste of the unit that I only discover after my first round of combat with it. Also the Dread Knights are deployed in a odd position, with a hill between them and the enemy units. I deployed them there so they could get to objective fast while still providing a counter-charge. Good idea besides that the hill prevented them from providing that counter-charge..

The deployment of the general and BSB is also bad, as they will not be able to move around the Warriors block because of the impassable terrain and they only face a EDC there. I should have deployed them with the other Manticore and focused my forces around the right flank. Harpies are also not in a smart position as I will later discover. Corsairs near artillery and able to get the objective is alright though. I sticked to my battleplan killing the EDC first and then combo-charge, but did absolutely not take the terrain and his deployment well in consideration, but this was bad deployment in all means. Much better would have been to overpower him in the right flank with fast troops, corsairs in the centre and refused left flank.

Turn 1 - Warriors of the Dark GodsHis Hellriders had vanguarded and get within range of the first Reaper.

In magic he gets off a Totemic beast, that moves within shooting range of the Harpies. Also awaken the beats on the Dark Raiders.

His breath attack kills all the Harpies, his Skullsplitter inflict two wounds on the Dread Reaper and the Hellriders inflict a wound on the other Reaper.

Turn 1 - XIII LegionI charge my Manticore in his EDC thinking I will break it on Ld5 or something. The movement of Dread Knights and Kraken is incorrect as they only move like that in my second turn. Everything that can shoot gets into shooting position while Dragon and Manticore move up to advance at left flank.

Shooting is successful and both war machine hunters are dead. 15 Corsairs killed 3 Hellriders, Cloaks another 1, 19 Corsairs inflicted two wounds on the Totemic beats. Both Reapers finish the last wound on both units. Raiders miss and it was stupid to move them as three die.

Manticore + Captain inflict three wounds, and get 1 in return. He just holds on steadfast ofcourse and I realize the absolute waste of the unit. Lesson for next battles, only send your flyers like this in battles they can win. This was just suicide without any gain.

Turn 2 - Warriors of the Dark GodsFirst fallen beast arrives and moves up to Dark Raiders / Reaper. Rest of army advances a bit more.

I use my Crown of Scorn against another Totemic summon and dispell his other spell.

He picks off another wound on the Dread Reaper.

Manticore loses 2 wounds, no wounds done to EDC. Unfortunately I hold on LD7 so he is dead next turn. He saves 2 wounds.

Corsairs easily kill the Fallen Beast, I think I did a total 7 wounds with both units. Reapers fail to inflict damage.

Manticore captain gets easily slain, he saves 3 wounds.

Turn 3 - Warriors of the Dark GodsHe retreats his EDC between the impassable terrain while his Trolls and other EDC move up into position. His last Fallen Beast ambushes and gets to a Dread Reaper.

He gets Awaken the Beast on the Kraken.

His skullsplitter kills the Dread Reaper.

Turn 3 - XIII LegionKraken moves up to be charged by the EDC, bad positioning and moving as this was ofcourse not going to happen. Knights fail stupidity test and one shuffles back. Dragon and Manticore move up further to charge Warriors, also bad move, as I get in his flank and therefore autofail because terrain. Raven Cloaks move up to shoot the EDC and lure him some inches forward so the Dragon can counter-charge. Bad move as even when it would work the Dragon would be out of position. Big unit corsairs reforms and moves to battlefield.

15 Corsairs kill the Fallen Beast with 5 wounds, and Reaper has now nothing to shoot at.

Turn 4 - Warriors of the Dark GodsHe charges the knights ofcourse with his EDC. He also charges the Raven Cloaks that flee, but he catches them on a roll of 11, hmm, againt stupid plan from my side lol. He moves his War Altar between Warriors and my flyers.

Swarm of Insects on the Dragon deleting the Lucky Shield. Awaken of the Beast on BSB Manticore.

EDC kills two knights, but they hold.

Turn 4 - XIII LegionRaptor knights charge the flank of the War Altar, Raiders redirect the Trolls, Corsairs + BSB + Kraken set up the counter-charge for the Trolls while I do not want to move up my Corsairs too much in risk of 11 or 12 overrun from the Raiders. Dragon gets just in front of the Warriors as I calculate that with its LD and BSB re-roll he will stick after the first turn and then gets to win every round of combat. Reaper moves up the hill.

EDC kills another two knights, he saved all his AS saves so far, as I had inflicted 4 more wounds over these two rounds of combat. The knights breaks and he does not pursuit but reforms towards flank of the Corsairs. Knights inflict four wounds on the War Altar, but are all saves by his ward save. He holds, one knight dies

Turn 5 - Warriors of the Dark GodsEDC charges the Reaper, but fails. His other EDC charges the Corsairs in the flank, I hold. His Trolls charge the Raiders and his Warriors charge the Dragon.

He gets 5 dice against 4 for me, I dispell his first spell and he has not enough to get another off. I only discover later how lucky I am as I had counted his Sorcerer to get the 5+ to wound attribute.

EDC kills many Corsairs, but they hold on Steadfast. Raiders are killed by the Trolls and he reforms. Dragon kills the champion, draw because its 4 vs 4. Raptor knights inflict some wounds, but he saves them all, he kills another knight. I win but he sticks.

Turn 5 - XIII LegionBSB and Kraken charge in the Trolls to prevent them from counter-charging Dragon. I move my corsairs too much forward, which is stupid because now the EDC can charge them.

The Dread Reapers hits, wounds and inflicts 3 wounds on the EDC

Dragon easily kills his Sorcerer and win combat, but the warriors hold. Knights inflict 1 wound, his Altar kills another 2 knights, only 1 left. Draw because of my standard. EDC kills enough corsairs to remove steadfast but they still hold. In the troll combat my BSB absolutely fluffs his attack that needed 5's to hit, even with re-roll. He instead inflicts 3 wounds on the BSB with S7 (we made a mistake here as he only has S5). Kraken inflict 6 wounds, and gets two in return. He is steadfast and holds, he reforms to kill the Kraken.

His EDC break both my units of Corsairs and catches them. My Dragon uses his Breath Weapon and combined they kill about 13 Warriors, that do 1 wound in return. He loses combat, fails his break test twice and I run them down. He inflicts two wounds with his War Altar, but I save both, he finally fails his ward save and I do 1 wound. He loses by two and breaks from combat, the last knight restrains to score the objective. His BSB kills my BSB that is still unable to hit his. His remaining trolls kill the Kraken, that misses all its attacks.

Turn 6 - XIII LegionMy last turn I try to finish one EDG with the Dread Reaper but it misses on 2.

Result He killed all but the Dragon, lone knights and dread reaper. I killed his Sorcerer, warriors, battleshrine is below 25% and fleeing, both fallen beasts and hellriders while both his EDC lost 50% wounds. 13 - 7 win for him, but I scored the objective so a 10 - 10 draw.

Post-Game Thoughts Pff horrible deployment and lots of mistakes in the movement phase. He did make a nice blitzkrieg in his first turn, but I am happy how the Corsairs did an excellent job in the shooting phase. It really helps to have quick to fire as it makes that big difference between hitting on 6's and 5's, especially when in short range shooting on something without armour they do well. Dragon proved to be an excellent grinder and should not be too afraid from big infantry blocks with champions when BSB is in range. Those trolls where too tough, but BSB and Kraken did their job holding it out of objective and anti-dragon range. That manticore captain was absolutely wasted, so were the Raven Cloaks. All in all a fun battle but with lots of mistakes I should not repeat in my next battles.

MVPDragon was the man of the match by taking out the enemy general and 27 warriors saving the battle into a draw.

Introduction Greetings friend, and welcome back to my Army Blog. Reading back my last report I realize its either a full detailed battle report, or none at all. My apologies for the lack of quality, it will be a battle report quickly forgotten. However this time I experienced a battle that will likely make up for it by far, as it was simply epic. It was against the hated Dwarven Holds, an army I usually struggle a lot against. If there is one army that can field capable warmachines taking out my Dragon, this would be the one. You can imagine my happiness when I saw his list and realized he did not brought a single warmachine!

The enemy brought a complete different list than I had expected (feared) so I was relieved. Three hard blocks with some missile support, two ambushers that would likely focus on the objective and ofcourse the very annoying Steam Copter chaff divided in two copters and one bomber. I should keep my monsters out of that nasty Dragonseeker and take out his copters as soon as possible, but I should be able to win this game big by controlling the movement phase and combo-charging in his blocks one by one.

Pre-game thoughts For those that do not play the 9th age yet, I will give some basic information about the main difference with the old Warhammer. Scenarios have changed a bit, and are more important than before. There are four different deployment types and four different secondary objective types. You roll for both of them at the start of the turn, and they will heavily influence the game besides the two armies facing each other. Personally I like this, as even against the same list you will always have different battles with different terrain, deployment and scenarios.

We rolled for Encircle, that means that the attacker can deploy further on the flanks while the defender can deploy a bit further on the centre. My opponent picked the side as attacker so could deploy more on the flanks while I could push in the centre. As secondary objectives we rolled for Secure the Target. This means we both had to deploy a marker, who controlled most markers (max 2) wins the scenario. He deployed his marker at the right flank, so I deployed it at the left flank with the idea my small units of Corsairs could take it. The enemy had three spells: Rune of Reckoning (Hatred), Rune of Gleaming (Hard Target + Distracting) and Rune of Resilience (-1 to wound in combat), all very strong in the magic phase on his blocks. I have the auto-selection 2 x Breath of Corruption (toxic breath weapon) and 2 X The Grave Calls (2D6 S5 missile).

Deployment A bit more on terrain before we go to the actual deployment phase. He had build a very nice piece of terrain (also compliment to the Tafelridder) with many elements such as ruins, a building, a wall, a field, several hills etc. It made for a nice and diverse board with some nice opportunities for both of us. Those logos are supposed to show ruins, while that brown fat piece is supposed to show a field haha.

We was the one that could pick the side and those the one with a nice hill in the deployment centre and ruins at one flank. Especially the ruins could be a nice space for my troops to hide or lure enemy combat blocks in. That central wall could also be of use while the hills would be great denying line of sight in case it was needed.

He started with a drop of his Crossbows at the far right flank close to his placed marker. I reacted with the Dark Raiders and the chess game started. His Handgunners were deployed to the other marker, supported by a Attack Copter. While I devoted the Dark Acolyte pair to this flank helping out the 15 Corsairs to clear those troops I also placed the BSB close. This is because I find that leadership is one of the weak spots of the Acolytes and the enemy would at least be able for 1 turn to maybe force a panic test, probably even more when stand & shooting. The Corsairs would be too slow so I devoted my BSB to this flank. I would like to hear your opinion about this, as my reasoning was that my BSB would not like to be in one of the combat units with great weapons as he would easily die, while his Handgunners + Copters might be able to take out my Acolytes with a lucky strike. I did placed him within 18" of the Dragon might something happen there.

It soon became clear the enemy would focus on the right flank, placing its infantry blocks there. I reacted with the Dread Knights in the far flank, hoping to smash into a juicy flank together with the big hammers (Dragon and Kraken) while Corsairs could provide some ranks and bodies. Dark Raiders could maybe take out a Steam Copter on the charge or the crossbows.

There were several moments, Oh sh*t he will deploy everything and take first turn, something that I was afraid of especially at the left flank. So when he had two units left I deployed the rest of my force, and won the first turn with +2 to start.

His first vanguard surprised me, as it was an aggressive one with his main block. However he also provided his flank for my Dread Knights? They also stubborn with the general yes, but 10 knights in the flank? I prevented the other blocks from vanguarding too far with my own Dark Raiders and he made diagonal battle line in his corner.

Turn 1 - XIII LegionFirst turn, I pass my stupidity test on LD10 of the general. Charges, hmm. I think hard and deep about this one. It is 16" for the Dragon, needing an 8 with swiftride. The Dread Knights can make it automatically because of the champion. Corsairs need 13", so an 7, possible on average. When I get stuck so early the enemy can charge my flanks.. But is there ever going to be such a nice charge opportunity for the Dread Knights in the flank.. When either the Dragon or Corsairs make it, I can finish him next turn when the Kraken joins.. I decide to do it and charge them all in! Unfortunately only the Dread Knights make it, not good as the counter-attack will likely hurt when they reform in his next turn. To make sure I can at least do a massive combo-charge next turn I move up the Kraken as far as possible. The Dark Raiders man the wall, luring the Greybeards to them while the Harpies get into position when something goes wrong. The right flank I discover I come a bit too short to get into the ruins, something I had hoped to do while deploying. They aggressively move up to hopefully take the Copter down and maybe do some damage to the Handgunners, so is the BSB on his mighty manticore. The Corsairs reform into 8x2 formation for sacrifices and sneak a bit forward.

Magic is 6 vs 4. I directly cast Breath of Corruption but making the huge mistake to not first sacrifice two Corsairs, making it useless as I am not within 6" yet. I do get the Grave through while the opponent fails to dispell it, inflicting just two wounds on the Copter. Not good.

The Raiders kill two Greybeards from a distance, nice one.

OK, the big flank charge! I was excited what the Knights could do in such big numbers. I challenged with my champion, reasoning I could kill a character or the enemy champion with some luck. He accepted with his champion that was quickly slain. Also the attacks of the other knights struck home, 8 more dead Kings Guard. Even the Raptor did significant damage and killed 3 more. In return he just killed a single knights. BAM. He regrets his choice and had clearly not expected this kind of damage so early. What a shame the others did not make it, especially the Dragon ofcourse. The enemy is stubborn on LD10 and makes his save (I just discovered he was LD9 all along). He combat reforms into full contact for some pain next turn.

Turn 1 - Dwarven HoldsBeing overpowered at the left flank his wounded Copter try to get away while getting a last chance for some ranged damage with the Handgunners. The Greybeards do not give in on the Dark Raider provocation and also mans the wall. The Seekers reform to get in the flank of my units if they get stuck in his now nearly halved Kings Guard. His bomber moves up to shoot the Manticore that is in the field and the other Copter at the right flank.

He gets a nice magic phase where I can dispell hatred and distracting, but he gets -1 to wound on the Kings Guard, not good. Not sure I should have spared my dice for this one, all others seemed as dangerous.

Combined shooting of the Copter and Handgunners kill 3 Acolytes, but it passes its panic test. The bomber fails to wound the BSB, even with re-roll because of the field.

With the -1 to wound and now S4, I only inflict two wounds on the Kings Guard. In return they inflict exactly 9 unsaved wounds, and the Knights are gone.. He reforms to face the next wave.

Turn 2 - XIII LegionThe Dragon, Corsairs and Kraken charge the Kings Guard, which passes his Terror test. Also the BSB Manticore charges the Handgunners that stand and shoot, but they fail to inflict a wound on the beast. Unfortunately the Kraken does not make the charge and now provides his flank for the enemy. The Acolytes move up to make sure the enemy Copter is dead this turn, while the Dark Raiders move up the hill to flank charge the Crossbows. For Harpies I decide to use them as speedbump so Seekers need a 11 to overrun into flank of the Dragon might it stick, should have likely used them more to redirect the Seekers in different direction than as speed bump.

8 vs 6 for winds of magic. I first cast The Grave with four dice with the full health unit, and roll double 6. Hmm. He kill the Copter but also lose three Acolytes with the miscast. Both units only have the champion with a single acolyte left.

Dark Raiders do great work and kill two crossbow wielding Dwarfs.

The combined attacks of the BSB and Manticore kill 5 Hangunners, too few as he will be steadfast. In return his 5 Handgunners inflict two wounds that I fail to save, so BSB already at half health! But stomp kills another one, breaking the unit. Unfortunately they run 12" and I fail to catch them, resulting into lots of delay as we will see. The big combat! The Kings Guard still have the -1 to wound on. I do not challenge, so does he. This allows my general to inflict two wounds on his general, and I devote four more Dragon attacks to his general, just killing it, pfew... His Thane has a special S10 strike against my dragon however and inflict two wounds, his Kings Guard another two. The Corsairs inflict two wounds while the Dragon breath weapon and thunderstomp kill some more Kings Guard, that is getting small now. I win combat and he rolls.. 10. Re-roll... 9! Yes! No he says, as Thane is LD10. Unfortunately we do not check this as he had full conviction (likely from old version or rules) as ofcourse it would had made for a very different battle. I also discover now that his units would even auto-break as without a King or General his Kings Guard are not bodyguard and my Corsairs had more ranks, so no stubborn or steadfast. Ah well!

Turn 2 - Dwarven HoldsThe Seekers with Dragonseeker charge the Harpies as expected, I hold. Also the Greybeards charge the Kraken, somehow I thought I was going to be obliterated because it was in the flank, but in reality it just matters 2 CR, as in front also 5 models are in base contact. That 2 CR might still be too much, and I fled with the Kraken hoping it would escape and then face them in the front when rally. This was a mistake as I rolled low and just barely escaped without a fight! His Miners arrive at the battlefield and his Bomber flies over the Dark Raiders killing 4. Handgunners rally, hmmm.

The hill provides hard cover for the Dark Raiders, and he only manages to kill two more. Just two left though, so while they survived I need to save them asap. They pass both panic tests.

The Harpies kill 3 Seekers before they are slain without mercy. Then the Dwarf rolls for the overrun, 11! Nooo! The Dragon is doomed.. Or? We start that combat and ofcourse I try to save myself by challenging with the general. He discovers that I have higher initiative, and with four attacks hitting on 3's, wounding on 2's there is a high chance I kill him before he gets to strike. For a moment he is considering all options.. What to do, what to do. He decides to let the Dragonseeker do what is was trained to do, bred to do, no.. what is was born to do! Lord Drakon rolls: 3, 4, 4, 6, all hits! to wound: 2, 5, 1, 1.. sh*t. The Dragonseeker lives.. However the Dragonseeker has lost it nerve after being so close to death and its life purpose. It only hits once! but that single hit also just wounds on a 3. But that 3 is enough, and the Dragon has no armour left. Because of the upgrade it inflicts multi-wounds (2) and the Dragon dies before it gets to strike. My compliments and congratulations to my opponent for actually slaying a Dragon with his Dragonseeker though, it was a very fluffy ending of my dragon this time . We shake hands over this major victory to his side, but the battle is not over yet! The Corsairs strike down some more Kings Guards, that have become very small now. The Seekers and Kings Guard also kill about 4 Corsairs, but I actually win combat because of my ranks, banner and wounds. He holds with the Guard while the Seekers are unbreakable.

Turn 3 - XIII LegionI want to get my BSB useful in at the right flank, but also fear that even while 4 left, those last Handgunners might for example force a crucial panic test losing me that marker, so the Manticore charges in. The Kraken fortunately rallies while the Dark Raiders get between the Kraken and Greybeards, so that they will flee out of range of the enemy Crossbows when the Greybeards charge them in order to get to the Kraken. Both Acolyte teams race as fast as they can towards the right flank to help out.

Dark Raiders pick off another Greybeard. 3 Greybeards and 2 Marksmen, the RXB upgrade was a good investment, so far scored 108 points.

The BSB and Manticore kill 3 Handgunners that break and BSB overruns of the board, at least that marker is secured. Will he be back in time to do some useful instead of hunting a 250 point unit? The Corsairs do really well and kill some more Kings Guard and Seekers, while they also lose a lot in return, I think I have 6 left at this moment. But still steadfast so I pass my break test.

Turn 3 - Dwarven HoldsThe Greybeards charge the Dark Raiders that flee, and he passes his redirect test and charges into the Kraken. The Steam Copters and Miners prepare to shoot down the incoming depleted Acolyte team. Crossbows have no good targets to march towards the marker.

Not sure if I am in range already of his Copter shooting, no Acolyte dies yet.

The Corsairs inflict a bit more wounds on the Kings Guard, only left! In return all but two of the Corsairs die, and they break from combat. He tries to catch them with the last Kings Guard that is still joined by his BSB while the Seekers reform to face the other unit of Corsairs, Acolytes and BSB. However the Corsairs barely escape and live! Then the Greybeard vs Kraken fight. He rolls to hit and discovers how difficult it is to hit a Kraken, just 3 hits resulting in two wounds. Unfortunately the Kraken has not hit well either and just kills one. However his thunderstomp makes well up for it, and kill 5 more! I win combat by 1 and he.. breaks!! I pursuit and even while he rolls high I catch him and can now charge the Miners in my turn! Well done Kraken!

Turn 4 - XIII LegionSuddenly things look for me again, thanks to that Kraken. He charges into the Miners, that inflict 1 wound with their stand & shoot after they passed their terror test. The BSB moves as fast as possible towards the battle, while the Acolytes get into nice blasting positions. The fleeing Corsairs decide they have done enough for today and run off the table, while the Raiders move to the board edge seeking cover from a building against crossbow fire.

A good phase, 10 vs 5! I first sacrifice two Corsairs and roll for Breath of Corruption, which is let through. Then another sacrifice of two Corsairs and I roll for my first Grave with four dice, but fail to get the 12+, hmmm. He easily dispels the other Grave. I had higher hopes for this phase, lets hope the Breath of Corruption will at least kill one Copter.

The Breath of Corruption get 11 hits, but unfortunately only 2 6's, not enough.

The Kraken again fails to hit and only kills 1 miner, but its thunderstomp kill 5 more. In return they inflict another wound on the Kraken, he has one left! They break and I pursuit. Because I was within 6" of the other Miners they need to panic test, I hope.. and he fails its panic test! It flees, even off the table! Wow, thank you Kraken for saving my ass!

Turn 4 - Dwarven HoldsWe are both down to some small and wounded units, but the battle is not over yet! His Bomber flies over the Acolytes and inflict 6 wounds, I save 4, so the Champion is left with a single wound. His Crossbows move to the objective while his Seekers push towards my Corsairs / BSB. He list Attack Copter is assigned to take off that last wound of the Kraken.

Fortunately he only wounds one with his Bomber repeater shooting which I save. His Attack Copter has more luck and inflict 1 wound that I fail the save, the heroic Kraken is dead. He scored about 900 points by himself, taking out 3 scoring units, so great job to him!

Turn 5 - XIII LegionI am thinking hard about what to do with the Acolytes, and decide those Copters really need to die so opt for blasting them away. The Raiders that are forgotten see a small opportunity by charging the flank of that last Kings Guard, scoring a lot of points and maybe even routing his BSB. This was not so smart as his BSB can just make way ofcourse. The BSB gets within charge range.

8 vs 4 magic phase! Unfortunately I don't roll high enough to get the 12' for both the Grave Calls, ughh!

The Raiders discover their mistake but still inflict 1 wound on the BSB, that misses its attacks. He has BSB and banner, I flank charge and wound, I win by 1, but he holds.

Turn 5 - Dwarven HoldsCrossbows get to the objective, Seekers push on and unfortunately his Copter and Bomber are still alive so try to assassinate the BSB. The Bombers flies over the Acolyte unit that still has two models, and inflict 3 wounds, I fail all saves so they are dead..

Fortunately the Midnight Cloak stops all damage and the BSB remains at two wounds left.

The Thane BSB decided he is done with messing around and slays the two Dark Raiders.

Turn 6 - XIII LegionMy last turn, I want to finish this game at least with a Grand Finale and charges my BSB into the Seekers to revenge Lord Drakon and his dragon Luna. Acolyte gets another time within blasting range of the Copter.

4 vs 3, come on! I roll 3, 3, 2, 1, again not high enough for the Grave Calls! I could have done some 3-5 Graves by now if I just had rolled 11 total with all those four dices!

The enemy is wise unfortunately and takes the charge with his champion, so the Midnight CLoak + Lance benefits won't be there next turn.

Turn 6 - Dwarven HoldsHis Bombers moves over the Corsairs, but not kiling enough to force a panic test. Copter tries to kill that last Acolyte champion while his Crossbows get into the objective range. His last Kings Guard + Thane have been hold up too long and also get to the Objective. My compliments to this unit for surviving all the onslaught though!

I inflicts a wound on the Acolyte, but I save it once more! Thank you 4+ ward saves. Very close every time this battle. Bomber kills one more Corsair, not enough to force a panic test.

Normally he would not take the risk, but because it is a friendly game and he also likes to find out the epic clash he challenges with his Dragonseeker. I hit first, and luckily I manage to kill him. However he has that You are Coming with Me rule. He wounds and just as with the Dragon, he only needs 1 wound because of the multi-wounding. I only have a 6+ AS left.. I roll.. 6! The BSB survives and has restored the honour of the XIII Legion.

Result Do not remember the exact score anymore, I think it was 700 points more victory points scored for him, we both had a marker so nobody took the secondary objective therefore a 12-8.

Post-Game Thoughts Pfew, what an epic game! Very bloody and exciting chaff war until the end. Unfortunately we played two crucual rules wrong in the second turn, that would have otherwise make the Dragon and Corsairs overrun out of Seeker range, killing the Crossbows next turn. I was unlucky with the Acolytes this time, while also making that initial Breath of Corruption mistake, however I definately see how much potential they can have, especially in the later turns when units get smaller. Unfortunately they lost 3 man early at the left flank, but those models per unit could still have been absolutely devastating and survived a lot of ranged damage from those Copters. It was glorious to do that flank charge with the knights, they can bring a lot of pain! Imagine they would have remained in the flank and survived that initial battle. Very satisfied with them. The Corsairs surprised me once again. I have experienced my last battles how great shooters they, but they can also fight! They stayed in combat for four full rounds, nearly killing that last Kings Guard. Oh and the Kraken, he literally saved the battle for me by that epic counter-attack. Unfortunately the BSB was not too useful in this game, as he had no good targets but I think I played his correctly in the beginning while that last charge was ofcourse not too professional? Dark Raiders in big group were also nice, however I do think it was a mistake to use them so aggressive in that second turn.

Black Feather entered the tent of Lord Drakon. "My Lord, we have discovered the hidden temples. They are protected by a strong force of Saurus warriors and several monsters" the legendary scout said in his soft yet sharp voice. "I slayed some of these lowly Skinks and found this at their bodies" Black Feather said while showing a golden coin.

"About time, I was wondering if there was anything of worth in this green hell!" Khaled cracked. However the eyes of Khaled had lit up with curiosity. Not for nothing he was known as Khaled 'the Collector' as he liked to take a souvenir from every opponent he killed. As the prefect of the Preatorian Guard and the second-in-command he was bestowed with the great honour of carrying the Eagle into battle.

"Patience, my restless friend" Lord Drakon said in his calm voice. "Your manticore Fury will be fed today and you will have your treasure, however we first have to defeat these cold-blooded warriors". Lord Drakon nodded to the Preatorian Knights who left his tent to prepare for battle. While he did not show it, he was also eager for battle after all these months of exploring the deadly jungles. He had heard stories about the many ambushes from this particular Saurus Warlord. He knew he had to be a cunning commander today, waiting for the right opportunity to strike...

Introduction Hereby I present another XIII Legion Dragon battle report and the first with the newest iteration of the list after several months of list building while traveling the world. Already while traveling I got the question of my friend and nemesis DeGroteBaas when his Saurus could eat some more elves again. Eager for some wargaming action myself after months of tactical readings, memorizing the rules and looking at the game results of other DE generals, I was looking forward to the battle.

The Dragonlist has evolved into a 'flying circus' with three flying characters. The reapers combined with many crossbow and handbow bolts provide a reasonable shooting phase. It lacks any magical offense or defense but makes up for that with mobility and combat punch. The monsters and chariots are easy to maneuver and can especially put a large dent when combo-charging. It has several tricks such as the vanguarding corsairs that can also reform wide to pepper the enemy with bolts. All my units besides the artillery have a minimum of 4+ armour save while most have above average resilience, strength and saves.

While I know this list very well the Thyrosctutus and the Snake Swarms were an experiment for my enemy to test out. A tough army with extremely dangerous chaff in the form of the weapon beasts. Also the Rhamphodon Riders usually give me headaches for trying to protect my warmachines. He does have a soft belly of skinks with the BSB and wizard so when I can manage to get one of my flyers in I could score some points. Also the Saurian Warriors are such a stone-bricked wall that I should try to save them for last while destroying the rest of his army.

Pre-game thoughts With the fast flyers and the vanguarding corsairs that could triple march my plan was to use the DRAICH tactic, which is to envelop the enemy at one flank while holding the other flank and center against enemy advances. As discussed several times earlier in my blog I developed four different tactics based on battles throughout history and will try to apply them every battle to become a better tactician. These tactics will be further developed later on in the blog with battle diagrams in theoretical articles. These tactics are:

1. The Lance (Penetration of the Center)2. The Draich (Single Envelopment)3. The Trap (Double Envelopment)4. The Wave (Refused Flank)

We rolled for Frontline Clash and Secure Target, so the normal deployment set up while we both had to put a marker and the general that would control most markers at the end of the battle would win the objective. Furthermore the terrain was relatively open with only 3 pieces. We had a forest at my left flank, a large impassable mountain at the right flank and a hill in my deployment zone.

Therefore my plan was to deploy the artillery central near the table border while the knights and chariots woud also take a central position. The vanguarding corsairs could overrun one of the enemy flanks together with the flyers while the Hydra kept the enemy in place at the opposite flank. I would concentrate firepower on taking out the weapon beasts as soon as possible and try to prevent the Rhamphodon raiders from taking out the artillery with threatening of counter-charges of the Hydra, Chariots and Knights. I figured that I could take out the Caimans with a combo-charge and that both the BSB as the Hydra could take punishment in and out of combat because of their Regeneration saves. Most of all, I had to be sharp and patient, just like him.. He is normally a patient and controlled opponent that can do miracles with his flyers (argh how many times did he sneak those Rhamphodons into my backline) while he patiently waits for a mistake from my side while setting up baits and anvil + hammer combinations.

Normally he uses Shamanism (damned totem beast!) but today he tried Druidism for healing up his monsters. Therefore I had to kill enemy models to prevent him from healing them this game. He is also a big fan of the Jade Staff to already do this on a smaller scale in his games. He got:

Three buff and one magical missile, great as I knew I just had to stop the magical missile every turn and I would not have to be too afraid from his magic.

Deployment I learned some painful lessons from DeGroteBaas in deploying all my troops at once or making mistakes in the deployment phase. We started off with the usual support units first and I got the set up that I wanted. Only I had chosen my objective at the right flank behind the impassable terrain, instead of setting up the objective at the other flank so I could use my mobility better. Unfortunately the enemy had two more drops than me and so could respond with his Saurus block and characters after I had deployed all my units. He effectively blocked my flank assault with his Saurus anvil and Carnosaur hammer as the Spartans did with Thermopylae. As a huge fan of King Leonidas and the Spartans overall, having watched the movie 300 countless times, I find it a bit stupid that I allowed myself to the be Persian in this situation.

However the beauty of my army is its mobility. I realized that even though the enemy had managed to block the right flank effectively and therefore negated my DRAICH battle plan, his Saurus warriors were now out of position if I decided to not try to push through the right flank but change my strategy to the LANCE by penetrating through his center. The Dark Raiders vanguarded towards the centre while I to think I surprised the enemy by vanguarding the Corsairs back 12" towards the board edge to save time from an advancing Saurian attack group. All that mattered was that both Corsairs could contest the objective in the final turns. The enemy vanguarded his Rhamphodon Riders (from now on I will call them 'Rippers' as I hate their new name).

Turn 1 - XIII Legion

I managed to not screw up my to start roll while I had the +2 bonus and we shake hands. Here we go!

I advance cautiously while the Dark Raiders get within shooting range. Especially the central Dark Raiders vanguarded far enough to get within close range of the left Razorback so I could those new +1 close distance shots and get behind the enemy lines. The flyers re-deploy to be able to push through the enemy center while preventing the enemy from passing through the cliffs with a possible counter-charge. The left flank Hydra and Chariot prevent any landing zones for the Rippers.

I first shoot with the left Dark Raiders and experience that the +1 to hit is really a great extra as I manage to inflict two wounds on the Razorback. With the other Dark Raiders I need 6's to hit but am very lucky and manage to inflict also two wounds on the Salamander. The Reapers miss a lot more, but both inflict a single wound on both weapon beasts while the enemy fails his saves and they die. I just love it when I manage to kill an enemy unit (especially shooters) in my first turn and two are nothing else than an excellent start!

Turn 1 - Saurus AncientsNot an enemy that easily loses his nerves the enemy ignores the losses and re-position his troops to hold his ground at whatever flank I decide to advance. With no 'holes' in my line the enemy Rippers fly towards the Raiders to be able to counter-charge anything that comes close and shoot some raiders.

In the magic phase the enemy makes the Caimans higher toughness and give the last Weapon Beasts a regen save. I dispel the magical missile.

Fortunately for me the shooting of the enemy is not that effective as mine and only kill several Dark Raiders, that manage to make their panic tests

Turn 2 - XIII LegionI decide to commit at the other side of the impassable terrain but advance cautiously out of fear of a mistake. I also realize that the cheaper Chariot could do a better warmachine duty than the expensive and faster Hydra so they switch position while maintaining zones against the Rippers. The Raiders decide to get some more practice range and the central line also moves up a bit closer. My plan is to take out some more of his shooting before I can reign the board with my supreme mobility.

Combined shooting of the artillery manage to kill another Razorback and inflict a wound on the last one. All the characters miss their shots and the Raiders also fail to impress this time.

Turn 2 - Saurus AncientsOnly now I realize my mistake as I left 'Thermopylae' open with all my flyers committing to the center and the enemy is therefore able to push through with his Swarms, Carnosaur and Rippers! His central lines move backwards to make charges very unlikely while his left Rippers fly towards the forest to hopefully get to my backfield and therefore artillery.

The enemy raises a Razorback and heals the other. I dispel the magical missile again.

The Thygosaur shoots at the Dragon with his bolt thrower but misses. Fortunately the Razorback again fail to impress and only kill two Dark Raiders, 'Black Feather' (my coolest DR conversion model) lives!

Turn 3 - XIII LegionRealizing my mistake it is not yet too late to hold the pass as I can apply the same tricks as my enemy uses against me and reform the Corsairs deep again, fly the Pegasus master into their ranks and position Lord Drakon himself for the counter-charge in a typical anvil + hammer set up. Black Feather (the last Dark Raider) decides that his life is not worth this skirmish and retreats to the backfield while the other Raiders get behind the enemy line to hopefully do some ranged damage and reach the skinks in two turns. The Hydra gets close enough for a charge and the rest of the central line also moves up a bit so they can charge or counter-charge next turn. Khaled on his Manticore Fury gets as close as possible as I realize I have to be more aggressive at this point. The warmachine duty chariot zones the flank but I make the mistake the enemy had been waiting for, I create a 'hole' the Rippers can sneak in next turn to get behind my units.

The artillery kills the raised Razorback yet again and the combined shooting of Lord Drakon (his first kill with a RXB!) and the Corsairs inflict four wounds on the Snake Swarms. Also the Khaled inflicts a wound on the Caimans while the Raiders inflict a wound on the Stygosaur.

Turn 3 - Saurus Ancients'Hmm', I see the enemy thinking. Charge in the corsairs and hope to break them or retreat? After realizing he has to kill 17 Corsairs in order to break me and prevent a counter-charge from the dragon he retreats his Rippers and Carnosaur. The pass is still contested and I prevented the enemy from breaking through the flank that I was hoping to push through myself. The flying mobility and especially the Pegasus master able to reinforce the Corsairs saved my day here I think. His Rippers finally found a spot to be able to charge in my flank next turn while his central line retreats further. At this point I realize this is good for me as eventually it is about scoring the objective that is now within reach.

He raised the Spearbacks yet again however I dispel his magical missile another time.

His bolt thrower hits and wounds the dragon, inflicting 2 wounds, ouch! The combined fire on my BSB inflict no damage because of his T5, 2+ and 4+ regen save.

Turn 4 - XIII LegionI decide it is time to push and I 'only' need 8 for my BSB to charge the Razorbacks while he has the possibility to overrun into the Skinks and thus the soft belly. If he succeeds I manage to do the LANCE tactic, however when he fails I have Dark Raiders close by to block the Caimains from a counter-charge. I also realize that the Carnosaur can only defend 1 flank at a time and as he currently face towards the center I can take out of the Swarms and get my Corsairs within range of the objective. I make all the charges and the Manticore has succesfully penetrated the centre. The Hydra and Chariot try to contain the Rippers while opening shooting lanes for my artillery. The Dark Raiders infiltrate further in the enemy backline.

From short range I try the single both that needs to hit on 4+ and hits! It kills the first Ripper and inflict another wound on the next. The other Reaper is less successful and only inflict 1 wound however enough to kill the second.

Finally combat in turn 4! The BSB inflict three wounds and also the Manticore get some damage in so they are able to break the Razorbacks that he catches on the pursuit and overruns into the Skinks. The Prince alone gets his Halberd to S7 because of Transcendence and before the dragon can strike the Swarms are dead.

Turn 4 - Saurus AncientsAnnoyed to have made the mistake of not positioning the Razorbacks well so I could overrun into his soft skinks the enemy also decides it is high time to stop this Mexican stand-off and charges. Fortunately for me his units are slower than mine and fail the charge. His lone Ripper get into the flank of the Knights though, which is not good at all as he can delete my scoring there! The other Rippers fly over the Corsairs to maybe still get to my artillery. I think I made a mistake here and he positioned the Carnosaur towards the Dragon again, while his Saurus warriors started to advance to claim the objective.

Because of combat the enemy can not cast the magic missile and I stop the extra Resilience spell while he gets off regeneration on his Skinks.

The Ripper manage to kill two knights (breaking steadfast) and I fail to do damage in return and flee! Nooo! However I get very lucky and barely escape in the pursuit from that deadly Ripper and the knights live. In the skink combat my BSB kills his champion.

Turn 5 - XIII LegionCounter-charge time! One Chariot charges the Ripper while the other charges into the Stygiosaur. The Dark Raiders charge into the flank of his +1 unbreakable monster in order to prevent it flank charging my BSB slowly eating the skinks. I decide that by taking out the Caimans I can score that objective and outnumber the Saurus with my two scoring Corsairs. The Corsairs reform wide to pepper the sneaky Rippers.

Combined shooting inflict 5 wounds on the Rippers and there is only one wounded left to be finished next turn, great!

The Chariot easily kills the Ripper however the other Chariot really surprises. It inflicts 3 wounds with the impact hits (enemy failing all his saves) and another one with the Lances. In return the Stegadon fails to inflict any damage and loses with a lot and breaks. We do discovered it had steadfest because of monster rank, so I don't know if it had also broken in that case. The Chariot catches it and now the enemy becomes slightly frustrated as I am breaking through. The Dark Raiders also survive and my BSB kills the enemy BSB. The odds are definately in my favour!

Turn 5 - Saurus AncientsWith most units destroyed and the battle turning hopeless the last Ripper tries to break the small Corsairs and the Caimans to destroy the Hydra getting out of my charge arcs and steal the objective. Both make it. The Saurus and Carnosaur pushes as fast as possible through the Hot Gates towards the objective.

Another regen on the Skinks but also a miscast, losing a single spell. Fortunately his magic was not that impressive yet predictable this battle.

We start at the Ripper that is easily dispatched by the Corsairs. Then the Hydra vs Caiman battle. The Caimans fluff their 18 attacks!! while I save the few that came through and the Hydra inflicts a whopping 10 wounds with his Breath Weapon and normal attacks. The Caimans lose combat by a lot and run, only to be catched and eaten by the legendary Hydra! After this loss the enemy concedes as his situation has become truly hopeless. We decide to look if I can prevent him getting a draw for the objectives though.

Turn 6 - XIII LegionIn case the enemy destroys both the Corsair units I lose the second objective and therefore the secondary objective becomes a draw. However if only 1 unit stays alive I contest the second objective and can make it a complete victory. By charging the Pegasus Captain into the Saurus block and holding them in place for at least 1 round I am safe.

We skip the rest and go directly into the combat of the Pegasus vs Saurus. I fluff my attacks and only kill two Saurus, while the enemy manages to inflict two wounds on the captain because I fail the two 3+ saves, but only just save the third one! I lose combat by 3 but can make use of the leadership 10 of Lord Drakon. I roll... 6 and stick!! resulting into a white flag for the enemy.

Quote:

Satisfied Lord Drakon dismounts his dragon Luna. Fortunately the bolt was not poisoned and Luna took out the sharp bolt with her sharp teeth and an angry and devastating noise. He smiled when he saw Khaled collecting some ancient magic items from his adversaries and counted the dead. Not one of his units had died today while most Saurus filth lay dead before him. Today was a good day...

Lord Drakon on his dragon Luna in action

Result I most enemy units while not losing one in return and took the secondary objective in some very final moments. Therefore a 20-0 win for the XIII Legion!

Post-Game Thoughts Pff what started as a game of chess with both players trying to push through the enemy lines especially those last turns were incredibly close! I did managed to steal the objective with killing the Razorback and Salamander in my first turn and I am happy I could change my battle plan quickly after the steps of the enemy. While only the BSB manages to push through, it was all I needed to get into the soft belly of the enemy and therefore push through the center. I was very satisfied with the list and all units played their part. Ofcourse that Hydra surviving 18 Caiman attacks and killing three in return was amazing, just like that 190 point Raptor Chariot taking out the mighty Stygosaur.

I was also pretty satisfied about my shooting and the two Reapers are a great inclusion in this list. Although I did not get the chance to use the vanguarding pegasus captain trick or the triple marching vanguarding corsairs into the enemy flank, I am happy how I played them and their synergy is just great. I managed to maintain patient yet ready to strike, just as this particular opponent usually defeated me over the last years (this is the second time I win against him vs 10+ losses).

I made several mistakes, and if you see more I am really welcoming your feedback for me to improve! It was a mistake I think to let this right flank become the Hot Gates as I lost my ability to outmaneuver the enemy. It did made it easy for to defend though and it resulted in a 20-0 so maybe it was the better choice after all. While the dragon got hurt, it again did not die, but then also did not see any real combat this game. The BSB with 4+ is a beast! I am glad that I gave him a Great Weapon so he is a better grinder. I am also very satisfied about the Chariots in this list and the Dark Raiders are a stay for sure!

MVPHercules the Hydra! He managed to withstand 7 Caimans on the charge, killed 3 in return, broke them and finished them off! More about his name later..

many thanks for your report and congratulations on the win! You really deserved it. I especially like how you managed to capitalize on the advantage you got with your successful first turn shooting: it meant you could move more freely while your opponent had to keep trying to do something to turn the battle. You were also generally very sucessful in containing his threats - well done!

Some random specific thoughts:

I was pretty surprised that your opponent didn't play more aggresively. I thought after the first turn, the ranged advantage was clearly on your side - if both of you just sat down and fought at range, you should have won. Am I underestimating some tricks the lizards can bring?

Did you consider using the breath weapon of your hydra on the rippers? I was contemplating it already in turn 3 but think in turn 4, it would have finished them off almost surely, saving your knights from that flank charge.

How for from each other were the corsair units in the last turn? It could have still ended ugly. Imagine the carnosaur charging the smaller corsairs. The monster has one monstrous rank, by killing just one single corsair, they are not steadfast. He probably kills far more and has a good chance to break them. This alone means the objective is suddenly a draw. What is more, he could catch the small corsairs, destroy them and force a panic test on the bigger ones which is always risky. But I assume if you played the turn in full, you could have easily moved your BSB in range to at least provide the bigger corsairs the reroll in case something goes badly?

In turn 4, was your opponent able to position his ripper so that an overrun would take it in contact with your chariot? I wonder what would have happened if he, instead of charging with the taurosaur and the caimans, just marched them full steam ahead. You would have needed to do something about them one turn earlier.

Your movement with dark raiders turn 4 made me somewhat nervous. On one hand, you threatened with a charge against the skinks which is probably nothing your opponent would have liked. On the other hand, you would have been unable to use them as redirectors if he really pressed forward. As an alterantive, you could have moved them back to your main force to have them handy in case they are needed. Also, it would have been another few bolts directed at the rippers.

Anyway, thanks again for the write-up and hopefully you will be making at least this level of headache to your opponent every battle to follow.

Quick Reply: Thanks for the quality batrep Will post more thoughts later.

Thanks a lot, I hope you enjoyed reading it and I am really looking forward to your feedback

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many thanks for your report and congratulations on the win! You really deserved it. I especially like how you managed to capitalize on the advantage you got with your successful first turn shooting: it meant you could move more freely while your opponent had to keep trying to do something to turn the battle. You were also generally very sucessful in containing his threats - well done!

Thank you Marchosias for your as usual excellent feedback, it really helps me to improve! Yes halving his weapon beasts in my first turn was a great way to steal the initiative and I think it allowed for the relative safe game for me afterwards. Actually the games that I was able to take out his enemy weapon beasts as soon as possible were most successful. Especially against my more elite infantry based lists I have suffered countless losses by these painful chaff units. I have studied warhammer tactics a lot while travelling both on this forum, especially ulthuan.net, quarterlies and the 9th website and have become more aware about certain things. I think I was indeed able to foresee threats in general, although I see now I had a lot of luck and could have easily lost crucial units in case of bad luck.

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Your movement with dark raiders turn 4 made me somewhat nervous. On one hand, you threatened with a charge against the skinks which is probably nothing your opponent would have liked. On the other hand, you would have been unable to use them as redirectors if he really pressed forward. As an alterantive, you could have moved them back to your main force to have them handy in case they are needed. Also, it would have been another few bolts directed at the rippers.

I think you are right as especially those rippers could have punished me a lot harder than they did now and those close range 8 bolts could have made the crucial difference. Also I did saved the lone dark raiders from death and thus preserved 225 points but I also removed my chaff from the places they would be needed if I failed a crucial charge or something bad happened. In the end they pinned down the counter-charge against my BSB in the Skinks that combined with the fluffing Caimans led to the concede of my enemy and would have been painful for the skinks in the flank possibly routing it. Not fully sure if they would have suited better as emergency task force (shoot rippers) or behind the lines annoyance (supporting the BSB) here and what they should be in my following games. I did really liked their shields on them and will pay those 25 points always now.

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Did you consider using the breath weapon of your hydra on the rippers? I was contemplating it already in turn 3 but think in turn 4, it would have finished them off almost surely, saving your knights from that flank charge.

Ah I totally forgot to mention this, as I also totally forgot to use the breath weapon in my shooting phase while the reason for facing my Hydra towards those Rippers so closely was to use it against them. I would indeed have killed that last Ripper. However in my Caiman vs Hydra battle I rolled 12 hits and killed two Caiman with it + inflicting another wound. Combined with killing another one with the normal attacks I devastated that unit so it was well used after all.

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In turn 4, was your opponent able to position his ripper so that an overrun would take it in contact with your chariot? I wonder what would have happened if he, instead of charging with the taurosaur and the caimans, just marched them full steam ahead. You would have needed to do something about them one turn earlier.

No he was not able to overrun in the Chariot because of how I positioned the Chariot and Hydra in my first before it, it is a bit unclear on the diagram. Yes I think that by no means I have won this battle 20-0 at this point. I am ahead in points and managed to penetrate the center of the enemy with my Manticore BSB but I still have to fight hard to get the objective and all his hard units are still alive. However I think at this point the enemy lost both confidence and patience, while it had both before my Turn 4. I did experienced him going berserk for the second time the moment when he thinks he is going to lose, so I think this is way of reacting to the feeling: I am going to lose. Now he charged on long distances instead of marching ahead.

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I was pretty surprised that your opponent didn't play more aggressively. I thought after the first turn, the ranged advantage was clearly on your side - if both of you just sat down and fought at range, you should have won. Am I underestimating some tricks the lizards can bring?

The last answer also leads to this one. My opponent also owns a Dark Elves army and knows both armies inside out. Somehow he is not easily 'pulled' by my shooting in all our games, likely because his units are relative tough, he makes good use of terrain and has normally 3 flyers (2 rippers and 1 skink hero) that he uses very aggressive. His style is a reactive one while he uses his flyers to advance on the flanks or center, his shooting to inflict ranged damage and his combat units to counter-charge. All of this also happened in this game although his list was a bit weaker than normal (no flying 2+ skink hero), so I know a bit better how to play against him and do the same to him. So his particular tricks are three flyers (all forest strider), bolt throwers on monsters or skink hero and ofcourse his weapon beasts, however in this game I killed 1/2 of his weapon beasts in my turn, he left 1 flyer that can also shoot with a bolt thrower at home and therefore could have realized too late his usual game was not working out as desired. Secondly the central objective have likely played a big role as he realized just like me that in the end he just had to get his scoring units into reach of the markers to win in.

Actually they did, by surrender Even though it is a 1+ unbreakable monster, I scored its points when the enemy conceded. The Dark Raiders pinning it down was an important blow to the enemy I think.

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How for from each other were the corsair units in the last turn? It could have still ended ugly. Imagine the carnosaur charging the smaller corsairs. The monster has one monstrous rank, by killing just one single corsair, they are not steadfast. He probably kills far more and has a good chance to break them. This alone means the objective is suddenly a draw. What is more, he could catch the small corsairs, destroy them and force a panic test on the bigger ones which is always risky. But I assume if you played the turn in full, you could have easily moved your BSB in range to at least provide the bigger corsairs the reroll in case something goes badly?

I agree, just as those Dark Raiders would have died in the second round of combat against the thyroscrutus, the combined might of Saurus and especially Carnosaur could have turned the 20-0 into something more equal. I do not know if I could have get my BSB closer when in combat or even killed by the thyroscrutus and that Carnosaur would have likely routed that small unit of corsairs possibly panicking the other. My luck here was that the enemy had become annoyed by his bad luck and a bit frustrated so conceded the game. For me it is a lesson to never ever surrender a game, which is fortunately easy for me as I enjoy every game to the last second even while losing and finding satisfaction in denying those last points to my enemy. I did not surrender before but this learned me to definitely not surrender in the future.

Thanks again for reading the report and the time you took to give quality feedback, I am very happy that I have received it and will try to give as detailed replies in the future as well.

Lord Drakon suddenly felt uneasy... The Corsairs were packing their bags full of the tropical gold laying around the conquered temple under a sharp eye of Captain Zlatan. Khaled counted its collected souvenirs with a cricked smile. Even Black Feather was taking a small nap. Yet he knew something was wrong. The defeat of the Saurian defenders had been too easy, too good to be true. In this seemingly victorious moment he felt no glory or hapiness, only fear. Fear that he had taken the bait...

Luna felt it too, and spied around with her cunning and fiery eyes. Since she was born she belonged to Lord Drakon and had stayed close to him ever since.

Then all hell broke lose.. All around them poisoned javelins and exploding magic ripped the unprepared Elves apart. They were surrounded!

"KHALED!" Lord Drakon shouted to his trusted Eagle Bearer hastily mounting his Manticore Fury. "Follow me! We will penetrate their center to create an escape route for our forces! For death and glory! Chaaaarge!!!"

Introduction Welcome back to my blog as I present my second battle report with my current list since I returned to the Netherlands. As you might have read in the last battle report I managed an exciting game of positioning against my nemesis DeGroteBaas. We are preparing for my first Grand Tournament in April and I will hopefully play one battle each week. He wanted revanche and I was determined to beat him again. I got some great feedback for my last battle and wanted to use my pegasus captain against his weapon beasts more this game while getting the dragon into combat.

A strong robust list, however his magic phase has become much better than last time. He can choose a Totem Beast and two of the hereditary magical missiles that really hurt within 18" and have a great range at 36". Combined with the Jade Staff (healing wounds) and another spell suddenly he is able to do some serious damage to my monsters while getting a totem beast in my backfield to take out the artillery. He also included his flying skink hero again so has three flyers that can get to my backfield, especially the skink hero is good in doing that. So has increased his ranged damage, flyers and as extra a totem beast if I try to play the defensive game.

Pre-game thoughts There were several things I wanted to do. First of all, killing his weapon beasts as soon as possible again like in last battle so I could move freely. I wanted to use my pegasus captain to hunt the spearback unit as he is well protected with the 3+ ward and might take them out in a single go with his multiple wounds, after that he would hunt the skinks or help in combo-charges. I wanted to move the Manticore and Dragon together so they could combo-charge in a unit in my second turn if there was an opportunity or otherwise prevent the enemy from advancing because of my threat. I also wanted to vanguard and triple march the Corsairs to a flank of the enemy. The Hydra would get into the Saurus and the Chariots would protect my flanks again as they did well last battle.

I knew that his magic phases this battle were going to be a lot nastier than last battle. Fortunately my flyers are still tough and have good saves (besides the dragon), my artillery are excellent anti war machine hunters themselves and I should kill a weapon beast at once to prevent the enemy from healing. I would love that Jade Staff for my list by the way, what an excellent item.

Deployment The terrain was quite different this battle with no hills or impassable terrain. Only four forests scattered around the flanks and in the deployment zones. The central part was still open so I could create nice firing ranges for my artillery. In case the enemy infantry would get into a forest they would lose steadfast and my Dragon, Manticore, Pegasus and Hydra can all charge through or in forests without fear for damage. I had too be careful with my chariots and knights however.

For our objective we rolled 1, to score objective points by being within 6" of the marker in the center. Hmm, that changed a lot of my battle plans as now I had the feeling I needed to keep my Corsairs central able to hold the center. I think that feeling was a mistake however and I should have used my small unit of Corsairs to get to the center with my knights as stand by unit.

We started with our chaff and this time I decided to move the Dark Raiders together, especially when he placed his Salamander I saw a nice opportunity for another first turn kill. A small 'trick' was to place them behind the forest as they can move through it without penalty in the vanguard phase.

We ended up deploying centrally with both infantry blocks in the center, my flanks are protected by the chariots while the monsters are also central to prevent his scoring units from taking the objective. I do make some mistakes here I see now:

- By deploying the in the centre, I block a lot of line of sight for my artillery- The Corsairs do not have a musician so are not able to protect the war machines effectively, better use them as forward bait (shooting harpies) or objective taker- Chariots at the flank are able to prevent Rippers getting in my backfield, however they are slow. The right flank chariot is very far from the center.- Overall my right flank deployment is not a good idea I think, because of the forest the chariot and knights might have to charge through. Also the Pegasus Captain will survive shooting attacks, but will be easily stranded and outnumbered when advancing solo in this situation. He can be great in a defensive mode this situation, but not offensive without support of the chariot and knights (overwhelming charge).

With vanguard I move my Dark Raiders up to prevent his Rippers from getting into my backfield first turn, he respond to get his Rippers back defensively. My other Dark Raiders also advance so they can take out the Salamander in my turn. They stayed within BSB range in case the enemy gets first. Finally he moves up his terradon hero while I decide to not vanguard my Corsairs. What do you think about vanguarding the Corsairs this battle?

I move up aggressively to take the center so I can collect those crucial objective points in my first turns if we get another Mexican stand off. I generally like my movements, especially of the flyers. They move up aggressively to prevent the enemy from advancing therefore giving me more time, also they are in position to capitalize on enemy mistakes. For my Manticore and Dragon I plan to combo charge the Saurus combined with the Hydra and Corsairs eventually at this point to penetrate his centre. I do make two mistakes however. First I use my chariot to prevent the right Rippers from getting in my backfield, but I distance it further from the battle and he will have to charge through the forest in almost all cases now. Better to stay close to the flank of the knights and still prevent the Ripper by good pivoting. Secondly I move my Dark Raiders in a strange position, very far from any place they have to do some redirecting. This is ofcourse because I want to shoot at the Salamander and do not want to be charged by the enemy Rippers or Teradon hero, but they could do the same while advancing in the center, where they can also bait his important units also. Now I move them towards a well protected zone with no chance of getting into the enemy backfield and way out of distance to save me if something goes wrong. I forgot what they have to do in my list: control the movement phase.

Although it takes me a lot more effort, and the second bolt thrower has no good line of sight on the Salamander at all, I manage to shoot it down and get my first kill. So far, so good!

Turn 1 - Saurus AncientsThe Saurus respond defensively by positioning his troops so he is able to counter-charge to my charges. His terradon hero gets in the forest to threaten the Dark Raiders while safe for bolt thrower fire. He shuffles his Taurosaur towards his Saurus but forgets to get the Skinks out of the way of a possible overrun of the Dragon and Manticore into his Taurosaur!!! I have 4 attacks (S5-7) of the prince, 3 (S6) of the captain, 5 (S6) + 2D6 (S4) of the dragon and 4 (S5) of the manticore to kill it and penetrate his center negating his deadly magic in my second turn! Also both within close charging range. He moves his Rippers to the flank and the small Caimans to take the charge of the pegasus hero while his Spearbacks move back.

I dispell both his magical missiles and he gets off a Totem Beast close to my artillery!

Fortunately his Totem Beast fails to inflict a lot of damage, like the rest of his shooters fails to do any harm. Great!

Turn 2 - XIII LegionHe realizes what he has done with the Taurosaur and that he has lost the game effectively as I will penetrate his center into his skink bunker yet again with my flyers out of reach of his hard combo-chargers. I doubt for a moment to give the killing blow in favor of playing it safe but I think should be a bit more aggressive while learning to play with this list so I get to know its limits. I also charge the Pegasus Hero into his Caimans as I only need to kill 1 to break their steadfeast and then catch them out of reach of the Rippers. Charge rolls, Manticore easily makes it but the Dragon rolls triple 1! I needed to roll a 6 or 7 and simply had not thought about what would have happened when I failed my charge! Now I ofcourse also painfully realize that my Dark Raiders are far away to be able to safe my a** in this case and I am in for a world of pain! Suddenly the Dragon can be charged by his Dragon-eating Carnosaur and my Manticore by a block of 30 Saurus. I move up the Corsairs and Hydra as far as possible to be able to charge the counter-chargers next turn as I am still LD10 with re-roll on both flyers. Unfortunately the Knights can only move up a bit because of the flanking Rippers, I should have deployed them more central. The right flank Chariot moves up more towards the enemy Rippers while still trying to prevent the Rippers from joining the Totem Beast. I realize how stupid it is to use Corsairs without musician on warmachine duty as they are unable to respond. Another crucial mistake here I think was to not charge the Teradon hero with the Dark Raiders as I think they could have taken him out with the possibility to get into the Carnosaur flank to get that small possibility of preventing it to charge the dragon.

The artillery show they are excellent anti-chaff and kill the Totem Beast!

The BSB and his Manticore are unable to kill the Taurosaur but do inflict some wounds. In return their T5 3+ 4++ prove to be very hard in combat even against monsters. The Peg hero kills a Caiman with the multi-wound while saving returning attacks from the Caimans, they break and run 6 while the Peg Hero rolls 4.. with swiftride, bummer.

Turn 2 - Saurus AncientsCapitalizing on my failed charges he charges into my forward flyers. His teradon hero goes warmachine hunting while his Spearback charges into the Chariot to free the way for the Carnosaur. His skink unit gets a bit more forward to be in range of magic I guess. Especially his lone Skink priest is very annoying by chaffing my Hydra in order to prevent it from charging the Saurus in their flanks!

I dispell his Totem Beast but then he succeeds in making his Carnosaur +1 S so S7! Big mistake in prioritizing his spells here!

The Teradon hero throws a stone and a Dark Raiders dies, other than died his shooting fails again.

Without the lance and charge on the pegasus the captain is really fluffy and fails to inflict damage, however he only gets two wounds in return. He does break and is catched on the pursuit. The spearback actually manages to inflict a wound on the chariot while I only inflict two wounds back, a draw! The BSB proves to be too tough for even all those Saurus attacks and prevents any wounds while killing some Saurus in return, I need to make the break test on a 8 and I do. Then the super dangerous combat against the Carnosaur. He gets in three wounds but fluffs most of the Carnosaur attacks!! I also get in three wounds but he saves that crucial final wound. Important: Prince failed to inflict wounds because of S5 and no effect of transcendence yet (I did 1 lethal strike though). I lose combat but stick.

Turn 3 - XIII LegionAt least I am able to counter-charge and with both the general and BSB alive the battle is definitely not lost yet! The Corsairs charge in the flanks of the Saurus Warriors and both Knights and Chariot into the Rippers. As you can see I am a but lost what to do with the Raiders here, I could have combo-charged in his skinks in the forest but then needed to take dangerous terrain tests + face a Caiman and killy BSB. Unfortunately the Knights do not make the charge but the Corsairs get in and so does the Chariot although he loses 2 wounds by charging through the forest. Hydra charges the redirector.

Shooting again the hard target terradon hero in forest is uneventful.

The Chariot kills all Rippers on the charge and overruns into the Spearbacks, good! The other Chariot kills the Spearback so is free to charge in my next turn while the Hydra easily dispatches the redirector but I opt to not overrun into the Carnosaur as he is in a challenge anyway. Then the combat with Manticore and Corsairs win by 2 so the Saurus are testing on a 6 but unfortunately make it. Then the Prince again fluffs his attacks and this time is obliterated by the enemy! That can reform to charge the Corsairs in the back next turn.

Turn 3 - Saurus AncientsNow it is time for the enemy to counter-charge into the Chariot and Corsairs while his Teradon hero makes it into the first bolt thrower. The Caimans in the flank of the Corsairs and the Carnosaur in the other flank.

Enemy tricks me with his spells to forget his bound spell Jade Staff and therefore gets Regen on his Saurus while healing a wound on the Carnosaur. He also gets off a magical missile on the knights and kills three of them, halving the unit.

Now things start to go very wrong. I only 1 for impact hits of the Chariot and kill a single Spearback while he easily finished the Chariot. The Reaper gets destroyed and Teradon hero overruns. The Saurus roll very well and finally kill the BSB, the Corsairs get devastated and run, being catched by both the Carnosaur and Caimans overrunning into the Hydra.

Turn 4 - XIII LegionI am losing the battle hard and getting completely overrun, however I can still do some counter-punch of myself. With some luck the Hydra is as devastating to his Caimans again and with the impact hits of the Chariot I could finish off the Carnosaur still. The Knights charge into the flanks of the small Caimans and all other units charge besides the Raiders and Corsairs to save the last bolt thrower.

Combined shooting finally kills of that Teradon hero and at least 1 bolt thrower is save to possibly score some desperately needed points.

Unfortunately the Chariot fluff and fails to do a wound, however one Dark Raiders manages to get a killing blow through! As he was able to bait me in not dispelling his bound spell he had healed that crucial wound and so the Carnosaur still lived while killing four riders in return. The Caimans are much more succesful and inflict 4 wounds on the Hydra. I am not able to realize it is lost already and try to snipe his Carnosaur but inflict all damage to the Caimans but still hurts but not enough. I lose the big combat by a lot and all fleeing units are catched. The last 3 knights still do 7 S6 attacks so devastate the Caimans, I love that banner!

Turn 4 - Saurus AncientsIn his turn he further charges the last Dark Raiders and Corsairs while sets up his last Spearback in front of the two knights while the Rippers get into range of the bolt thrower.

He kills another knight but they hold.

He easily slays both Corsairs and the Dark Raiders. At this point my only hope is to kill the Carnosaur, so in my next turn I try to kill it, but fails. Also in my turn the knights charges the Spearback but because of their special shooting rule he easily kills the Knights. Then in his 5th Turn the Rippers charge the bolt thrower and I am completely tabled!

Result 0 - 20 defeat! I lost all my units and was completely tabled, OUCH.

Post-Game Thoughts The most crucial difference with last game was both terrain and his magic I think. I did not make good use of the forests at all while he did. Because of his more painful magic I lost the luxury to take it slow however I think overal my battle plan could have worked out great, even got another 20-0 myself if that Dragon had made the charge. However it didn't and I had not used my chaff well enough to prevent the distraction. Even while the I got stuck with my flyers I had two counter-charges afterwards but all failed to deliver a devastating blow. I think I screwed up my right flank as well, as the Pegasus, Chariot and Knights all charged a separate turn after each other allowing the enemy to hold his position. The S5 of the Prince really mattered this battle so it is really crucial to try get those first kills in before he get into something tough as the enemy Carnosaur character or maybe even the Taurosaur. I am confident you will also see lots of mistakes on my side, so I am happy to receive all your critical feedback!

Thank you for the report! Good to hear your opponent still has what it takes to make you think.

Some random thoughts as usual:

Deployment of bolt throwers: I wonder whether it would have been wise to deploy them farther from the board edge - so that the totemic beast cannot breath weapon them right after being cast (if cast as the smaller version). They would have been more vulnerable to fliers but maybe it would have been worth it nevertheless. Also, they would more often be shooting from short range.

The salamander has a short range and is not that fast, maybe it was not the top priority target for round 1 shooting. I think would have actually tried to shoot the skink hero since he can redirect, endanger bolt throwers and so on. Or maybe I would have tried to get lucky and single shot the carnosaur - big expensive heroes on the last wound are usually not too brave.

I am not sure I like the movement of your fliers turn 1. Since they were close together, the carnosaur was able to keep both of them in check. If they split up by some 12-18 inches (possibly already during deployment) they would have far bigger potential landing zone; it would have been far more difficult for your opponent to keep all your options in check. You are at an advantage here: your opponent has to deny you all possible options, you just need to spot the one he forgot to consider.

When your pegasus captain got charged, did you consider fleeing? After failing the charge, the rippers would have been at the mercy of your chariot. Or were they actually able to charge the chariot comfortably as well? If so, shame on you. The rippers are a pain though. Not sure what would have been the best way to handle them - probably denying landing zones using the chariot and operating outside their charge range with everything else. They were quite far away on the right flank, circumventing them should not cost that much. Thinkg is, you can't allow dedicating three units just to keep them in check (if those units do nothing else). In that sense, sacrificing the pegasus captain might have been worth it - he dragged them in the open where the chariot could kill them.

Turn 3, I would have tried to overrun with the hydra. First, some combat result is always nice and works even if the hydra doesn't attack. More importantly, the carnosaur would have been pinned down after the dragon's demise. And while I wouldn't bet on the hydra, it still has 7 attacks and a breath weapon that ignores regeneration. It could have realistically succeeded in killing the dinosaur.

Also turn 3, what was your plan with the corsairs charging saurus? The caiman counter charge was inevitable. Were they able to charge the carnosaur instead? Charge, flank, 3 ranks, that is +6 to combat result - even if the carnosaur killed your general suffering no wounds back, it would have been testing on -3. Worth a shot if the situation is desperate enough. And again, pinning a big beast down is a good idea sometimes.

Anyway, it's getting late and I am out of ideas for the moment, so I will end here. Not sure whether I will get to write something more so if not, let me thank you once again for the report. I think it was actually quite a good battle, so I hope I don't sound too harsh with some of my comments.

Introduction Welcome back to the fourth and final test game before the GT: Alliance Open. This time I faced the Infernal Dwarf list of my friend kasocles, a list I heard some dangerous stories about. After some tactical advise on the forum and study of the army book I went to war.

You are likely getting familiar to the list: a Flying Circus supported by a shooty and resilient core and some fast well-armoured hard hitters able to overrun the enemy lines. It has opted to not invest in any magic in favour for combat and shooting damage.

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